A cautionary tale about an all-natural 'super food'

There has been a fair bit in the media recently about people becoming ill (or worse) due to natural or herbal products. My general attitude is that just because something is natural doesn't mean it isn't harmful and we really should remember that almost anything in excess can harm or kill you. You can overdose on water for instance, yet we can't survive without it. Plus let's all remember that some of the most toxic substances on Earth are natural.

Most people who know me know I am a balance kind of person. I try to eat mostly pretty well and use supplements where there is benefit. A lot of my attitude to food and eating has to do with the fact I once suffered from an eating disorder and since I recovered I am very wary of diets or restrictive eating in any form. But a lot of it too, I like to think, is common sense and not wanting to believe fads without at least looking into it first. Of course the fact that I'm not giving up chocolate, twisties, pasta or certain other yummy foods any time soon has a lot to do with the whole 'balance' thing!

So here we have a cautionary tale coming from me, someone who should have known better. I have been suffering digestive upsets recently, often quite severe. Some might assume I must be eating really badly or else they 'helpfully' recommend I cut out gluten, milk or any other such thing that is considered the latest big bad wolf of food. I may even get dirty looks for not having drunk a green smoothie this past week .... or you know .... Ever!

So it was with some surprise that I have discovered that my problem substance is in a fact something that has been touted as being good for me, labelled as a super food ( I hate that term!) and isn't involved in the production of twisties or freddo frogs or any such things. It is in fact Maca.

Yes that incredible substance everyone is telling you to eat! Proponents claim that Maca balances your hormones, gives you energy, increases your sex drive, supplies high doses of certain vitamins and more. Well it possibly can if you look at what it is and how it actually works. So in other words, if you step back from our crazy western obsession with foods of the moment, our habit of 'discovering' staples from subsistence farmers, and our pretentious assumption that we must know better, there may be something there ... but look with caution. 

Because those subsistence farming people do know their stuff, a lot better than us as it turns out. A Peruvian might indeed prefer their Maca to be organic and labeled vegan, who knows? But they would never eat it raw, as is the form it often comes to our health food shops in. For thousands of years the Peruvians have respected the Maca plant, used it in moderation and cooked it! Because raw it causes severe digestive problems, such as I have been experiencing. I do wonder if they are all laughing at us? Raw Maca? Seriously? Crazy, stupid sanctimonious western morons! 

Yep pretty much sums us up huh? The realisation that perhaps it could be causing my problems started to solidify very quickly when I took to google. If you search 'does Maca cause digestive problems?' you will find some very valuable and thought provoking reading. As much as I have suffered, I have found tales of people with severe digestive discomfort weeks or even months after they last ingested the stuff. They too googled their query too late.

So sometimes something touted as healthy can cause more harm than good if you don't understand what the product is and how it works. Maca is a plant and cooking it doesn't strip away the vitamins or any other such rubbish you might have heard about cooking, it actually takes away all the stuff that is indigestible. Additionally raw Maca can harbour dangerous bacteria which if ingested can cause severe problems of their own. None of which is stated on the packet of the stuff you are intended to throw in your smoothies, or even on the bottle of the capsules. 

If you want to use Maca as a supplement, show caution. It may be there are a lot of benefits if you eat it cooked as part of a balanced diet, in small amounts, a few times a week like the Peruvians do. But even if you get the gelatinised versions ( cooked so therefore digestible) who knows what large amounts of the stuff shoved into a daily smoothie might be doing? Maybe it is in fact making us stronger, wiser, more effervescent and overall more healthy ... Or maybe not.

So my cautionary tale is this .... natural doesn't mean it can't harm you, raw isn't always best and you shouldn't ingest anything new without first researching it. Because chances are anything negative isn't making it onto the packaging, especially if the words 'super food' are involved. 

Why do we listen to Celebrities?

I recently posted a Facebook post before stopping to think about it. I blame all the meds I'm taking for my asthma and hay fever...

Seriously though I had a go at Jamie Oliver after reading a click bait headline saying he was declaring a war on sugar. Now what got me incensed was that I am sick and tired of seeing him everywhere. He has sold out in my opinion. He will put his face on anything including products containing sugar.

A few of my friends disagreed with my rant because they thought I was against the actual message. I realise that in my angry haste I worded my point badly and was misunderstood ( a lesson for us all! - write post, re-read post, think - then delete as appropriate!) I'm not against the actual message. Whilst I hate it when people declare war on anything let alone one particular type of food I of course believe we all should learn about sugar and what it does. We should aim for a balanced diet and learn about hidden sugars in processed food etc.

But the more I think about it the more it bothers me that people who become famous because they are talented at something think that qualifies them to tell people how to live their lives.

What we eat, what we buy, what we even think about certain things all seems to be heavily linked with the celebrity obsession our society has. Companies spend millions of dollars on celebrity endorsements because people are more likely to buy something that is endorsed by a celebrity.

Why though? You pay an actress to be in an ad for hair dye or make up. Do you really think she uses that product? She dyes her hair at home? Chances are she isn't using cover girl make-up either. So why do we think these products are automatically better? 

The same goes for the celebrity chef. Curtis Stone doesn't use those pans his name is on you can buy at Target. Putting his name and face on it just means you are being suckered into paying more for a pan that is identical to the one next to it because it has his face and name on it.

There is of course a very strong psychological force here. People are led to believe if they buy and use the products then that some way brings a tiny bit of celebrity into their lives. 

Though that in itself is worrying. Why do we give these people so much kudos? Why should I be happy that my son will hear it from Jamie Oliver that he should limit sugar? Because if I teach him to listen to a celebrity about that then I'm teaching him a celebrity knows best.

Why don't we listen to scientists, nutritionists and read up on topics for ourselves rather than take on board what a celebrity says?  How do we know when a celebrity genuinely believes something and when they are being paid to sell us things? 

So basically I am fed up with celebrity culture. I don't get it. I don't understand it. I don't see why I should pick a product off the shelf because of a photo shopped picture of a celebrity trying to tell me how good it is. It's getting harder to find products that are not endorsed by someone famous though. This is how bad things have gotten.

So yes I will teach my son about the dangers of too much sugar but not because Jamie Oliver wants his face in the paper again. I will teach him that because of facts.

It is time we all remembered that celebrities are people. I am all for admiring someone for their talent. But when it's come to a point that celebrities are the go to for our life choices then I think we have taken it too far. 

Why I could never go on Masterchef...

The new series of Masterchef Australia is now gracing our TV screens. Another group of hopefuls will take on each other at various baking and cooking tasks.  People will tweet about it. They will comment on Matt Preston’s cravats, how yummy the cakes look, which contestants they love…or hate.  They will reminisce about their favorite winners from years gone by. Former contestants might even have an opinion or two.

The contestants do of course make the show. Their personalities’ are often as important as their cooking ability. Personally I admire each and every one of them. Yes even the ones everyone else hates; even the ones that get eliminated in the first week; even those that cry at the drop of a hat. In fact I even admire those that cringe when asked to cook a desert because they never cook desert. I mean it’s not as if they knew before going on national television that they might be asked to make such a thing and perhaps should have, you know, practiced. Yes I even admire those fools people.

Now I am not one of those people who boasts about my inability to boil water as though it is in fact a redeeming quality. This is not my reason for such admiration. Not at all. It is not like I admire anyone who can use a sharp knife and work out how to turn on the stove.

I do in fact enjoy cooking. I love trying new things and experimenting. I have a basic knowledge of food and flavors. I understand that cooking can be fun and artistic and an expression of love. Unlike some Masterchef contestants of years gone by I can in fact tell the difference between veal and pork.

In fact at first thought I imagined I would be just the person to go on the show. I love to cook and I can cook really well. Everyone says so. But no; I would fail miserably if I attempted to audition. I simply do not have the extreme passion and dedication these people have and this folks is what I admire so.

The people who go on this show really love food and cooking. I mean really passionately love it. So much so it seems a little bit abnormal. These people want to be chefs really, really badly. I suspect that if the show involved diving into a tank of sharks with the last one out alive being hailed the winner then these people would still do it. They would stare death in the face crying about how much their dream means to them.

Make no mistake. Good on them. Passion is a wonderful thing. But you know I just couldn't cut it. I don’t have the dream. I don’t have this ability to love each and every mouthful of food I consume and I don’t have the addiction to cooking. I thought maybe I did but I don’t. It’s a bit a sad actually. A poor reflection on what I thought was my love of cooking.

Some of these contestants talk about cooking as a way to relax after a tough stressful day. You know what I say?  Let’s just get some takeaway. Sometimes cooking can be fun but there are many times I truly can’t be bothered. Certainly a bath and a glass of wine are preferable than cooking a three course meal for relaxation. But maybe that’s just me.

I admit there are some foods I don’t like and don’t ever wish to ingest. I’m not talking religious reasons either but rather those ‘that looks and smells disgusting’ kind of reasons. Duck? Pigeon? Liver? Nah thanks not really keen. It’s not cooked properly you say? Well I don’t really care as I have no intention of eating it. So you want me to cook a seafood stew? Great stuff. Perhaps the best way to do this is throw it all together and taste it. Then when I want to throw up I will know it is just right?

If I imagine myself as a contestant it is as the one contestant that stands out from the crowd but not because of my cooking skills. One of the top chef’s in this country if not the world presents his signature dish. I am the only contestant not bowing and scraping but instead exclaiming, ‘Yuck that looks revolting. You expect me to taste that?’

Also imagine the would-be tear jerker scene when the judges ask me about my food dream. I say something like; ‘well I just thought it would be really cool to get on TV and learn to cook better. I mean my own cookbook would be so cool but I would rather die than ever have to work in a commercial kitchen. It looks like sheer hell in there!’

I do love it when the teams win challenges and are given a treat. At first they are usually told they will be having a lunch at some out of this world restaurant. So I would be thinking that this sounds great! Long lunch! Imagine the great wine list we could get stuck into? Then the clincher; that there will also be a class with the chef of said super dooper restaurant. What? You mean you actually have to work? Isn't this a prize for goodness sake? Can’t we just eat and get stuck into the booze then go back to the house and nap? But no the contestant’s actually get more excited about the learning opportunity then the free lunch! That is dedication. I would be ostracized if I was a contestant and gave my true opinion on the subject.

So there you have it. I love food and cooking but it turns out not nearly as much as I ever thought I did. These people put me to shame. I rarely see people so enthusiastic about a new career path. This is of course, lovely to see, but also a stern reminder of my own limitations. So please excuse me while I go and cook a lamb roast for dinner, with fresh rosemary or mint. No I won’t forget the correct resting time. I will however probably be using gravox so any would be Masterchef contestant best look away now.   

What about you? Could you cut it on Masterchef?